Introduction
If you didn’t know already, this week is recycling week. With the theme this year being a thank you to the nation for continuing to recycle despite the challenges we’ve all faced with COVID-19.
Recycle week 2020 also recognises the sacrifices key workers and citizens have made to keep recycling going and creating a positive change in the world around us!
Statistics released by Recycle Now show that throughout lockdown the UK has become even more environmentally aware, with nearly 9 in 10 households saying they ‘regularly recycle’.
Coming out of lockdown, more people are prepared to change their lifestyles to help the environment: 73 per cent, up from 68 per cent in 2019. And an amazing 93 per cent of UK households say they believe that ‘everyone has a responsibility to help towards cleaning up the environment’.
Royal Flush Vape are very aware of the environmental changes happening in our current climate and we are working hard as a team to limit our carbon footprint wherever possible.
This blog looks into the importance of recycling and highlights not only what we are currently doing to help the minimise our carbon footprint, but also the small steps you can carry out to protect our planet!
Why Recycle?
Unfortunately, discarded electrical equipment is the UK’s fastest growing type of waste. At present, over 75% of electrical goods waste ends up in a landfill which equates to around 2 million tonnes! The toxins stored within these products cause damage to the natural environment and surroundings.
Waste contamination causes catastrophic damage to the natural habitat, wildlife and our own personal health. The toxins created from electrical product waste can pollute water supplies within populated areas creating a wide range of problems for communities around the world.
The good news is that the majority of vaping items that we currently discard can be easily prepared for recycling! By safely discarding your old vaping equipment, you can play your part in helping save the environment and reduce the health risks associated with non-recycled electrical waste goods.
Don’t know how? Don’t worry, this article explains how to reduce your impact on nature, environment and our own personal health. In addition, we also outline how we lessen our impact on the environment with our WEEE Policy Page.
How do we help?
Here at Royal Flush Vape, we are fully committed to minimising our impact on the environment. From environmentally friendly packaging to in house recycling operations, we are constantly reviewing and improving our company recycling policy. Our entire company follow procedures set out by the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment recycling (WEEE) more on this will be explained below.
Eco Friendly Packaging
If you’ve placed an order with us in the past, you will have already noticed that we utilise recyclable packaging created with paper from responsible sources through the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). In addition, our packaging is created with at least 60% recycled content and can be easily recycled by you!
Recyclable Bottles
In addition to eco-friendly packaging, all e-liquid bottles at Royal Flush Vape are made of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) which can be recycled and used to manufacture new bottles and containers in the future.
In House Recycling
Alongside our other recycling efforts, our team work hard behind the scenes in all of our stores to ensure we recycle what we can whilst highlighting possible improvements we can make.
Our policy also expands to our own delivery service where our drivers use state of the art mapping technology to optimise their route which in turn lessens our carbon footprint and also gets your delivery to you as quickly as possible too!
Working with Suppliers
To lessen our impact on the environment, we work closely with our third-party suppliers to ensure that plastic usage is minimised alongside bulking our imports to lessen our carbon footprint.
Recycling Your Old Products
Did you know we will take back your old or broken vape devices and recycle them free of charge? Simply either pop into one of our stores with your product or mail them to us and we’ll do the rest!
You can read more about this on our WEEE Policy Page.
What Is WEEE?
We follow guidelines set by The Waste Electrical or Electronic Equipment (WEEE) to ensure that not only are we following what’s required, but to also ensure we are doing everything we can to lessen any impact on our environment.
Read more about WEEE on our WEEE Policy Page.
ROHS Compliant
The Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), originated within the European Union and now restricts use of specific hazardous materials found within electrical and electronic products (EEE).
The restricted materials set out by ROHS are identified to be hazardous to the environment which pollute landfills and are dangerous in terms of occupational exposure during the manufacturing and recycling process.
All products stocked by Royal Flush Vape are fully ROHS compliant and follow all guidelines provided to ensure we are as environmentally friendly as possible!
What Can You Do?
Although we work hard in ensuring we as environmentally friendly as possible, there is also a lot you can do yourself. There are many little steps that can have a massive positive impact!
To get you started, we’ve listed the ways you can safely recycle your vaping equipment along the way.
Recycling Batteries
Rechargeable batteries are one the main parts you should really recycle correctly to protect the environment, this is due to batteries containing hazardous chemicals.
In the UK, around 40,000 tonnes of portable batteries were sold in 2018, with only around 18,000 tonnes being recycled.
Recycling batteries is easier than you may think, simply remove any parts from your e-cig battery or device and put it in a specified battery recycling bin. You can often find these bins within supermarkets or at recycling facilities.
It is important to ensure that the battery terminals are correctly insulated to prevent the risk of fire. Read more on battery safety in our battery safety and wrapping tutorial blog.
Recycling Tanks
To dispose of your tank, we first recommend that you rinse it out first to remove any e-liquid residue before throwing them away, as liquid nicotine could leak and be harmful to the environment.
If you are fully committed you can separate the components and put them in their respective recycling bins.
Recycling Bottles
As highlighted earlier, all e-liquid bottles used at Royal Flush Vape are made from PET making them fully recyclable, just give them a quick rinse and place them in your relevant plastic recycling bin.
Bulk Orders
If you are a frequent vaper and go through a lot of bottles, you could think about ordering a bigger bulk of e-liquids up front through our website to minimise the number of parcels required.
We have many incentives to bulk up your order on our website with some excellent savings, so not only would be taking strain off the environment, you will also be saving too!
Thank You For Recycling
And that wraps up this blog on recycle week. You should now have all the information you need to ensure you are as environmentally friendly as possible regarding the vaping world!
The team at Royal Flush Vape would like to thank you for recycling and together we look forward to making the world a better place step by step!
But for now, as always; Stay safe and speak to you soon,
The Royal Flush Team!
Disclaimer: The content on www.royalflushvape.co.uk offers general insights about vaping and vape related products. Please be aware that this information is not meant to be a substitute for medical advice and should only be relied upon when explicitly referenced. We make no guarantees regarding the accuracy, reliability, or health-related advantages of the content displayed across all pages of our website, including blog posts, product pages and social media content.
